The Science of Us- Sonnet

 Ok, so Mortimer and I like sonnets.  Mortimer likes to use them for all of his gloomy stuff, but I like to remind people that they are useful, no matter what emotions you want to express.  This, like most of my poems, is for the girl that inspires me in nearly everything I do.  People who know her might get some of hidden messages in this.  If you're not one of those lucky people, I hope you can just enjoy the poem with its seemingly generic theme and message.  I used seemingly random mathematical variables in the first part of the sonnet, so really this could be interpreted for anyone.  Then, in the second part, where the theme changes, I made use of my favorite scientific tool.  Bunsen burners are cool, but I pick lasers over them.

Anyway, here's my sonnet.

Thanks for your time,

Jacob

The Science of Us

A plus B
Equals happiness in me
J plus J
Equals heartache and pain
mE divided by U
Has left me fresh and new
mE minus U?
What would I do?

A laser is just light
But it cuts through the night
Cuts things apart
Light has power
One ray is all that separates our hearts
And keeps me fighting every hour

Oh Weary Traveler- A Story in Limerick

Life, as we know, is a journey.  We go through our precious few days trying to find happiness.  Some of us find it temporarily in people, money or things.  Others find it in God.  Whatever you try to find happiness in, though, there will always be difficult times in your life.  Times that you don't know if you can make it through.  Times that make you wish you had never been born.  This is a story about one of those times.

The idea for this actually came to me while reflecting on a particularly difficult time in my life.  Oddly enough, what came to mind during this reflection was the popular nursery rhyme "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and this is the first poem in a collection I am currently working on that is based on the nursery rhyme.  The third stanza of the nursery rhyme mentions a traveler who has lost his way.  My story talks about me as the traveler trying to find his way again.

My choice in using limericks to tell the story has something of a double meaning.  During the 1800's, limericks were the most popular form of political attack add.  They were used to constantly make fun of people running for political office.  In a similar way, this mocking comes over in the story, to reflect how often people belittle our problems.  The other reason I chose limericks is because of their rhyme scheme- AABBA.  In non-poet lingo, the first, second and fifth lines of each limerick rhyme, while the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other.  Basically, this brings the end back to the beginning, and helps keep a focus on a central issue.  It reflects how hard it is for people to learn from and move on from their mistakes.

And so, I give you Oh Weary Traveler.
May you be spellbound,
Mortimer Micheals

Welcome back, oh weary traveler
You may find rest, but oh, not here
To find your heart
Tear yourself apart
And find what you know really mattered

Welcome now, oh weary traveler
For once, ignore the quarreler
Continue your quest
Fight it your best
And don’t let yourself be flattered

Well, come here, oh weary traveler
You made yourself a jeweler
To set your stone,
But wound up alone
And find your heart now, tattered

Well, come away, oh weary traveler,
Find yourself away from her
Discover the truth
Soon see the proof
That maybe your dreams aren’t shattered

Welcome home, oh weary traveler
Now you may finally rest here
To finish your days
Be happy through haze
Though you find yourself broken and battered

A Wonderful World?- Personal Essay from Mortimer

                As I took my reflection time this morning, I realized that all I was thinking about were the negative things that had happened in the past several weeks.  I was betrayed by a person that I trusted, only to turn around and watch the evening news and see a story about a homeless man getting his face chewed off.  When I finished watching that, I got to work on a school assignment about children in Africa dying from disease and malnutrition.  But I wasn’t done with school for that day, so I got to work on my next assignment, which happened to be about American workers losing their jobs to outsourcing.

                But the bad news didn’t stop there.  One of my closest friends moved across the state, while another of my friends got angry at me for something that wasn’t my fault.  One of my friends hurt someone who serves as an inspiration for much of my poetry, and I don’t know how I can respect one of them and work with him after that happened.  My reputation is being attacked by people who don’t even know me, and my own friends won’t even listen to me when I tell them the truth.

                I continued pondering the depressing events of my life and my thoughts came to rest on last night’s newscast.  On it, I saw that two men that I had once seen commit a crime had been arrested for a violent murder in a city of only about 50,000 people.  I wondered if, had I reported them, I could have spared an innocent person’s life.

                Ironically, while I was pondering these and other unfortunate and depressing events in my recent life, I thought of the Louis Armstrong song, What a Wonderful World.  The writers of the song, Bob Thiele and George Weiss, paint a decidedly optimistic picture of the world, and point out everything good that they can find in the world around them.

                One stanza of the song particularly stuck out to me- “I hear babies cry and I watch them grow.  They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know.  And I think to myself, ‘What a wonderful world’.”  This pulled my mind completely from my own problems and reminded me of the sibling I will be gaining this winter.  

                What will this unborn child’s life be like?  A thought occurred to me the moment I asked myself this question- that’s the wonderful part of it all.  If you break down the word wonderful, it doesn’t mean great, good or even decent.  It means “full of wonder.”  Full of mystery.  And with that realization, I saw the most beautiful thing about life.  To quote Forrest Gump’s mama, “You never know what you’re gonna get.”

                Maybe your life stinks right now.  Maybe it’s so bad that you think you can’t make it through whatever you’re dealing with.  The thing of it is, though, that you have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow.  Maybe it will only take one more day before things get better for you.  And maybe, just maybe, tomorrow you will wake up and realize how many people you have that care about you.  People that will hug you when you least expect it, be there when you need them and pick you up when you fall.  Don’t take those people for granted- they really care about you, and get hurt when you do.  Trust me on that one.

May you be spellbound,

Mortimer Micheals

Father's Day- Jacob's Opinion

It's Father's Day, as I hope you've noticed.  If you're like me, you might sometimes wonder why we have a Father's Day.  Having put a great deal of thought into this, I've put together some thoughts on dads, and what's we find so nifty about them.

Fathers are by no means perfect.  To the average toddler, they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and the first hero in the life of most boys, if not most children.  As we grow, however, we start to see their faults.  We begin to see them more as human than god-like, with flaws that go along with their wisdom.

But that's just the thing.  While they may not be perfect, and while they make mistakes, they have wisdom and experience to help us grow and give guidance when it is needed.  And, whether we like it or not, we need guidance.  Regardless of our age, there will always be something we haven't experienced- something we will need advice or guidance on.  You could blunder through it, and learn from your own mistakes, but where is the intelligence in that?  No business, given a choice, would do that, because they would risk destroying themselves.  Rather than blunder through your own mistakes, learn from the experiences of other people.  Fathers offer years of experience and wisdom that can save us from doing things that we will regret for the rest of your life.

My dad is like any other good father.  He's not perfect, but he always does what he can to help me through whatever I'm going through.  We have our disagreements, but I can respect his side because he respects mine, and whether I agree with him or not, what he says always helps me get through whatever I'm dealing with.  No matter what, I'm thankful for my dad.  Are you?

Greed: A Sonnet

The sonnet is the one of the oldest and most challenging poetic styles in the English language.  It uses pairs of rhyming lines (couplets) and groups of four lines that may or may not all rhyme (quatrains).  This is an irregular sonnet, as it only has 12 lines.  Normally, sonnets have 14 lines.  One of the key components of a sonnet is that it changes tone, and can even change its focus, somewhere around line 8 or 10.

Now, about the message of the poem.  While the body of the poem never actually tells you what the subject is, it does allude to it.  It references Shakespeare, one of the greatest sonnet writers, by mentioning "the green eyed monster."  Anyone who knows much about Shakespeare instantly recognizes this as Jealousy.  What is the mother of Jealousy?  Greed.

Greed is the source of most of our problems as a society.  Why do we hurt people?  Because we think it will benefit us somehow.  Why to we lie, cheat, and steal?  Because we want something.  The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil.  Note that it does not say that money is, but the love of money- greed.

The problem is, we really have plenty to be grateful for.  If you are reading this, you probably have a home, and you probably own a computer and/or smartphone.  If you can afford items like that, it means that you have the means to support yourself, or that you have someone with enough money to take care of you.  Even if you're reading this on someone else's phone or computer, in a library, school or friend's house, you likely have friends that care about you enough to help you out.  And even if you have no money, no home, no possessions and no friends, you are still alive.  You might be in need of some things, but if you need something, then there is no ignoring the fact that you cannot keep living without it.  Just remember not to get greedy once you have what you need, or it will destroy you.

And with that, I give you Greed, A Moral Poem.  Drop me a comment and let me know what you think about the poem, or about my thoughts on greed.
May you be spellbound,
Mortimer

Greed

Diabolical, you strip it away,
Trying to prevent me from having
A new day, and in a way
You spend all your time worshiping
Yourself, not caring about the lives you destroy
You’re worse than your child, the green eyed monster
Sucking us all in with your dangerous ploy
Getting us all to turn on each other

Were it not for you,
Nothing would be made new-
Through your evil, you may add happiness to life,
Though you destroy many through anger and strife.

It Shouldn't Be This Way

I know some of our fans also like Doctor Who.  I'm a huge sci-fi fan, and one of my favorite things to do is wonder about what could have happened.  After watching Doctor Who, Series 4, I wondered what would have happened in the Turn Right Alternative- what if Donna Noble hadn't gone with Rose to find the time machine?  With no one to ensure the safety of the universe, what would have happened, from her perspective?  And so, with those questions in mind, I wrote this flash fanfiction, It Shouldn't Be This Way.  If you watch Doctor Who, this should make sense to you.  If not, hopefully you will still find the mystery and allure intriguing, at the very least.

May you be spellbound,
Mortimer Micheals

It Shouldn’t Be This Way

                The stars are going out.  Slowly, but surely, they are just going away.  No one is sure why.  But when you look up at night, you’ll start to notice.  But no one knows what’s going on.  First the bees disappearing, and now this- the stars are going out.  Something is wrong, though.  You know it shouldn’t be this way.

                “There’s something on your back!”  Why do people keep saying that?  Why don’t you go near mirrors anymore?  You don’t know.  All you know is that something is wrong: It shouldn’t be this way.  The disasters, the royal family dead, America turning to blobs of fat, half of Britain killed in a split second, the concentration camps, the poison sky- it shouldn’t be this way, and you know it.

                She’s blonde; fairly good looking, and strangely familiar.  She told you to leave London just before the ship crashed and leveled the city.  How did she know?  What else does she know that no one else does?  She tells you that this is all wrong.  That there is someone- a doctor of some sort who wasn’t supposed to die, but did; he was supposed to stop all of this, but something went wrong.  Something about a time machine.  You’ve lost everything, and now this crazy woman wants you to give up the rest, and follow her for reasons she can’t explain?  No way.  You stay home.

                The stars are going out.  The darkness is coming, and still they don’t know why.  Nearer and nearer it gets.  And just like that, the sky is dark.  The Medusa Cascade, scientists tell you.  That’s where earth is now.  But how?  The aliens come down and start killing people.  Little robots with little squids inside.  You’ve never seen them, but they are strangely familiar.

                An announcement is made.  Hold your families tight, for the earth shall be destroyed.  The aliens need Earth, a moon and 25 other planets.  Earth must be destroyed to stop them.  And just like that, Osterhagen- Earth’s gone.  But you were Donna Noble.  You knew something was wrong, that it shouldn’t be this way.  But you didn’t try to stop it, even though for one shining moment, you were the most important person in the universe.  No, it shouldn’t be this way.  But it is.

Remember: An Advice Pantoum

Most people, when I ask them, have never heard of a pantoum.  When I ask most people what a poem can do, they don't normally reply with "Give advice." So what is a pantoum?  A pantoum is a poem that uses repeated lines to emphasize a message.  This is a standard-form pantoum, that follows a rhythmic format for repetition.  I chose to use a full-alphabet in the scheme; in other words, there are 26 different lines, and all but one of them is used twice.

Most people don't realize how easily a poem can give advice.  Most poems don't do this as obviously as this poem.  Most, like War is Kind, by Wilfred Owen, use subtlety or irony to try to prove a point, and in proving that point, tell the reader how the author thinks things should be done.  As for me, I like to be straightforward and blatantly honest whenever possible.  With that in mind, I give you Remember- a bit of advice from personal and shared experience.

-Jacob

Remember

Remember to keep things in perspective,
Because without perspective, we are lost.
Remember to live without regrets,
Because life can’t be slowed by worries and frets.
Because without perspective, we are lost,
Take a step back to look clearly down your life’s path.
Because life can’t be slowed by worries and frets,
Chase your ghosts away, not the other way around.
Take a step back to look clearly down your life’s path;
Take your time to figure out what to do, and do the math.
Chase your ghosts away, not the other way around;
Find peace in the fact that you can hold your head proud.
Take your time to figure out what to do, and do the math;
Fall asleep when you rest your head- fear no wrath.
Find peace in the fact that you can hold your head proud;
Feel the freedom to live your life out loud-
Fall asleep when you rest your head- fear no wrath.
Because you know you did it right, you can
Feel the freedom to live your life out loud-
Step up and be the person you always really have been.
Because you know you did it right, you can
Be unafraid to operate outside of the system,
Step up and be the person you always really have been.
You know that who you are isn’t who you can be:
Be unafraid to operate outside of the system,
Let yourself hear them tell you once again,
You know that who you are isn’t who you can be
Before long you will finally be able to see
Let yourself hear them tell you once again,
You know what to do, try harder and then
Before long you will finally be able to see
What it really means to have insight in the world of me.
You know what to do, try harder and then
Faith will find some new doors for you to open.
What it really means to have insight in the world of me?
The ability to look back having learned, yet trust that
Faith will find some new doors for you to open.
To look temptation in the eye and walk away,
The ability to look back having learned, yet trust that
You won’t make the same mistake next time.
To look temptation in the eye and walk away,
Take your heart’s desires and throw them away and
You won’t make the same mistake next time.
Look at defeat and remember where you could be.
Take your heart’s desires and throw them away and
Before long you will be able to take a chance to
Look at defeat and remember where you could be.
Keep your victories humble, so that
Before long you will be able to take a chance to
Remember to keep things in perspective.

Introducing Mortimer's Murmers

Hello all,
Most of you probably wonder who I am.   Most of you are also wondering what this is, and what the heck you are doing here, of all places.  I don't quite know exactly why you're here, but hopefully I can help answer some of you're other questions.  My name is Jacob Joyce, and I'm a young author from Central Wisconsin.  I write about almost everything, in almost every form of writing.  I have had some of my poems, short stories and memoirs published through teenink.com, where several of them have received top ratings within their respective sections of the website.  I'm currently working on my first full-length novel, the first in a sci-fi romance based loosely on my great grandparents during their teen years.

This is the free portal that will introduce you to the world of the writings of  me: Jacob Joyce, or at times, my alter ego- I call him Mortimer Micheals.  Why have an alter ego?  Look at my name, for starters.  There simply isn't room in the literary world for two Joyces to have any success.  Quite honestly, I don't feel I deserve to be in the same league as such literary greats as James Joyce.  If I have remotely similar success compared to him, I will be happy as a writer.  This blog also gives you access to many other things I wouldn’t normally publish- personal exposés and opinion papers.  I also give links to my Facebook and Google Plus accounts, so you can follow me and get the low-down on the workings of my day-to-day life.  Check back often for more updates and pieces of work.

-Jacob Joyce, a.k.a. Mortimer Micheals